The Next Day
by othfan
Summary: What happens after Haley's confession of her love for Nathan
1. Default Chapter

Tonight was the night of the annual Christmas Party that Dan Scott threw annually. He always invited the basketball team and their families to attend. Nathan wasn't looking forward to it this time around because off all that had happened in the past year. He smiled as he hung the mistletoe above the doorway, hoping that someone would get some happiness out of the evening. He had no idea that someone would be him. A couple of hours later, he spotted Haley, quite possibly the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on. But, he couldn't tell her that, it was too complicated. Their lives were too different. Brooke was sitting on the couch watching this strange Haley chick, or tutor girl, as she so often referred to her. She saw her stealing glances at the tall, dark, and handsome Nathan. Then she thought of something that made her smile to herself. A little while later, she noticed Haley standing under the mistletoe as she leaned against a wall, and sighed to herself. Haley was getting very bored, and the only thing that kept her going at this party, was her occasional look at the very good looking Nathan Scott. Her only wish that night was that he would look at her too. If only she knew. Nathan was getting thirsty, but the only route he could take to get to the kitchen to get some punch, that he hoped was spiked, he thought to himself, was to go past Haley. He finally mustered up enough courage, and while walking past her, he paused to say hey or something non dorky like that. Brooke was standing nearby and she Ahemed! in their direction, and looked up at the mistletoe hanging above their heads. They both looked up at the same time, and their eyes met. They said in unison, "You shouldn't mess with tradition!" They both closed their eyes, and leaned in for a kiss. When their lips met, it was the most wonderful feeling either of them had ever experienced. It was full of passion and spice, and everything nice* They broke away, and both were breathing heavily. Neither could believe that their dreams had come true. Nathan had to get out of there, he didn't know what he could say after something like that. Find out what happens from here in the next chapter... *What will Lucas say when he finds out from Brooke? *What will happen between Nathan and Haley? *Who does Lucas end up with?  
  
.all questions to be answered if you read and review.Thanks so much!!! ~Merry Christmas~ 


	2. Aftermath

Sorry about the long wait! I've been putting lots of hours in at work*  
  
Haley was startled the next morning when she awoke. All that had happened the night before was like a dream, or that's what she hoped anyway. It couldn't possibly be real. How could big, important Nathan Scott have kissed her and felt anything. She laid back down on her pillow, and sighed. Meanwhile, Nathan Scott was doing the same thing, wondering if it had all been his imagination or had it really happened. After the kiss, that's all he'd been able to think about. Later that day, Haley was wiping down the counter at Karen's Café, when Lucas walked in.  
  
"Hey babe, what's going on?" Lucas asked with a grin. In the back of his mind, he was really struggling with the fact that he had found out from Brooke, which almost made it worse, that Nathan and Haley had experienced some lip action with each other the previous night. It also didn't help that it had been under the mistletoe, even though that could have been the reason for it. The very thought of it made him shudder. He wanted to confront her about it, but didn't want to cause her any discomfort.  
  
"Nothing really, it's slow so your mom's letting me off early." Haley replied  
  
They talked for a while longer, then Lucas said he had to go help Peyton with some group assignment. He also didn't know how much longer he could go without saying something.  
  
As he walked out the door, who should he run into, but Nathan. He glared at him, and was glad he was on his way out.  
  
Haley didn't notice Nathan come in, and went about her work as usual. She heard someone come up to the counter, and with her head still down said, "Hi, welcome to Karen's Café, what can I get for you?"  
  
Nathan tingled at the sound of her voice. He didn't know why all these feelings were suddenly surfacing. A week or two ago, when he looked at Haley, he just saw a smart girl.  
  
She finally looked up, and was very surprised to see Nathan standing in front of her. Happy, but still surprised.  
  
"Hey, how have you been?" Nathan asked with his hands in his pockets.  
  
"I've been better, but I'm pretty good." Haley replied. She noticed how nervous he looked and acted. She also noted that usually guys act nervous around the girls they like. This made her smile.  
  
Nathan asked why she was smiling.  
  
"Because I thought for a second that you might love me as much as I love you," Haley thought to herself. Then as she looked at him again, she saw a surprised look on his face, and his mouth gaping open. Only then did she realize that she had said it out loud, not just to herself.  
  
At the same time as all this drama was going on, Lucas had driven the tow truck over to Peyton's house. He walked up the front sidewalk, and just as he lifted his hand to ring the doorbell, the door opened. There stood Peyton.  
  
She looked like she had just woken up, which was strange because it was already after five o'clock.  
  
"Hey, you ready to work on the project?" Lucas asked.  
  
"What project?" Peyton shot back.  
  
"This one, Lucas said as he stepped forward and kissed her hungrily.  
  
*Sorry to keep you in suspense of what happens next, but I wanted to leave you wanting more* You know the drill, read and review, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed and those who read my story, comments are welcome~ ~Happy New Year~  
  
Next time:  
  
What will Nathan say to Haley's confession?  
  
How will Peyton react to Lucas's advances? 


	3. After the confession

Hey everyone! Thanks to all those who read my story and reviewed! I really appreciate it* Now onto what everyone is waiting for.  
  
Nathan just stood there speechless, had that really just come out of her mouth. She looked shocked as if she didn't mean to say it aloud. He couldn't tell, either way it made his heart beat faster. She lifted her hands to cover her mouth.  
  
"I am so embarrassed," Haley groaned as she turned a bright shade of red.  
  
"You shouldn't be ashamed of your feelings. At least you have guts enough to do something about them." Nathan said.  
  
"Are you saying that you like somebody and can't tell them?" Haley questioned.  
  
"Yes, I love this girl that I know I'm not good enough for, and I'd hoped that maybe I had a chance with her." Nathan said quietly  
  
"Well maybe you should tell this girl how you feel, get you feelings out in the open, and hope for the best." Haley responded, "Go find her right now, and get it over with."  
  
"I think you're right, I am going to do something about it!" Nathan started to get confident.  
  
Nathan stood there staring at her.  
  
"Well what are you waiting for, go find your girl!" Haley exclaimed  
  
"I have, and she's standing right in front of me" was all Nathan could get out.  
  
Haley could feel her heart start to flutter. Could it be true? Could he really feel the same way she did? She just stared back, without saying a word.  
  
Silence. Awkward seconds passed.  
  
Then Haley finally stuttered, "Are you saying what I think you're trying to say?"  
  
"If you think I'm saying that I love you, then you're right on target." Nathan said.  
  
"I just can't believe all of this is happening so fast. I mean a week ago, I thought that you would never go for a girl as plain and simple as me. Then last night when you kissed me under the mistletoe, I didn't know whether it was out of pity, because of the tradition of mistletoe, or whether you genuinely wanted to kiss me. And today added to all of that has almost been too much." Haley tried to keep talking, but Nathan put his finger to her lips to hush her.  
  
"It's ok, I know how you feel." Nathan said as he cupped his hands around her face, and brought her in close to his.  
  
She was anticipating what she knew would be happening in the very near future. She had eagerly awaited this kiss all morning, thinking that the moment might never come.  
  
Their lips met tenderly at first, each testing the waters, and then as they realized it was something they both wanted desperately, they began to get more intense. They kissed passionately for a short while. They were forced to break apart by a customer who wanted a refill on her coffee. Nathan said he'd be back later because he had some unfinished business to attend to.  
  
Haley could only imagine what he meant by that, but anticipated his return.  
  
After Lucas and Peyton broke apart, she was lost for words, something which didn't happen often for this played out drama queen. They both stared at each other for what seemed like hours. They Peyton broke the silence.  
  
"Do you want to come in or something?"  
  
"Or something, and I think you know what that is." Lucas answered.  
  
"If it's about this kiss that just happened, I don't think I'm together enough to talk about it." Peyton replied. "I mean it was great and all, but what did it mean for you?"  
  
"It meant that I wanted to show you how strongly I feel for you, and wanted to know how you felt about me." Lucas said, the brooding face starting to set in.  
  
Sorry to leave you hanging again, I just can't help it! Read and review please* Thanks again! Hope you enjoyed, comments are very welcome! 


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